Queen of the Grimm
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Regina had always been good at running from her problems. So when the curse is broken and her mother shows up trying to weedle her way into her daughter's good graces, she does what she does best. She just never expected to end up liking the 'world without magic'...which apparently does have magic after all. If only the Wesen would quit mistaking her for a Grimm!
1. Chapter 1

She had always been good at running. You might even say she was the _Queen_ of running away from her problems.

Regina Mills, aka the Evil Queen from the old story of _Snow White,_ was sick and tired of dealing with the Charmings (talk about unoriginal) and their annoying spawn of a brat Emma Swan. The same woman who unfortunately happened to be the birth mother of her son Henry.

Thanks to the blond haired twit, everyone remembered who they were and now she had to deal with the Charmings trying to 'defeat' her again.

To top all that off, she now had a migraine because she was trying to find a way to remove Emma from Henry's life, or at the very least get her son to move back into her home and away from the Charmings.

And then her week went from headache-inducing to absolutely shitty. It wasn't Gold, sadly. She could deal with his brand of irritating. No, it was something infinitely worse.

Cora. Her _mother_ , and an absolute manipulative bitch who no doubt wouldn't hesitate to try and 'mold' Regina to her liking again.

Seeing her son with his birth mother and that annoying pest Mary Margaret, and then seeing her mother in the same room, Regina came to a decision.

She would do what she did best when faced with something she loathed dealing with and had no ready response for.

Run away. Of course she wouldn't phrase it like that exactly. The rumors it would spawn would never allow her to live it down. No, if anyone asked she was going on a much needed vacation.

And she had the perfect person to force into being the Mayor of an out-of-the-way, technologically deficient town where only the people who knew of the real truth behind the old fairy tales and knew where it was could already find the place.

If Emma Swan was going to be a pain in the ass and try to take her place as Henry's mother, then she was going to suffer what it was like to be Mayor for a few months. By the time she came back Regina had no doubt in her mind they'd be begging for her to take the job back, because Swan could barely handle the bare bones of police work in this nowhere town Regina had created. No way could she handle being _mayor_ for two LONG months.

Let it never be said that Regina wasn't capable of petty and cruel punishment.

Naturally she got her things in order, made it very clear she planned to be out of town for two months for a 'vacation', made sure to have enough stock of memory potion so she wouldn't forget who she really was, kissed her son goodbye, and then drove past the town line knowing that there was no better relief than putting as many miles as humanely possible between her and the two biggest headaches she had ever known. A few months away from the Charmings and Cora would do her a world of good.

Regina ended up in a place that was so much like the Enchanted Forest (in a more technologically advanced sort of way) that she felt right at home. Portland, Oregon was about to be the temporary home of the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest.

In the first week she had become a resident of Portland, Regina had learned four things.

One, it took a few days to get used to be just another ordinary citizen, and not have to deal with the look of fear-filled respect every day by almost everyone.

Two, it was noisy and there was a large diversity in the kinds of food she could get. She really wished she had thought to add more than that boring cafe when she made Storybrooke, once she got a good taste of the sheer amount of culture here.

Three, there were a large number of people who seemed to be able to shift into partial animals in Portland. So far she had seen wolf, cat, pig and the odd beaver. They seemed to get as far away as possible once they realized she could see them for some reason.

Four, she had quickly found a job she was surprisingly good at within three days of coming here.

It had happened without warning. She had been minding her own business when she heard the distinct sound of a gunshot and the horrified cries of a lot of females.

The first thing she did when she saw the gunman running out of the discreet building was rear back her fist and punch the idiot out with a single hit. It wasn't hard to put two and two together to realize he had likely killed someone and was trying to run.

Regina had tied the idiot up until the cops arrived (one of them better eye candy than the hunter she had made her booty call for several years running by the name of Nick Burkhardt...pity he had a long-term girlfriend) and within two days of the incident she ended up the head of a small rescue organization dedicated to helping women and children from abusive and unpleasant conditions escape, heal, and if necessary to make new identities in order to start fresh.

And thanks to years of being mayor, Regina knew how to make the paperwork a lot more manageable and how to read really, really bad handwriting. And the woman who died had some of the worst she had seen since the last time she had to read Grumpy's scrawl on a bail bond. (Don't ask.)

So yes, Regina had made a sort of home in Portland and had already paid rent to her small apartment two months in advance. If she had to leave, she would be able to and no one would try and hunt her down for anything.

Strangely, as the temporary 'leader' of the Queen's Castle rescue group, she felt a sense of peace she never had as the Evil Queen or as the dictator Mayor of Storybrooke.

And the weird thing was that the group therapy meetings she was required to go to (it was mandatory for all new members apparently) was actually helping her with the grief she still held over the fact her true love had been murdered in front of her by her own mother...and all because that spoiled brat of a princess couldn't keep her damn mouth shut.

In the Enchanted Forest, there was no such thing as 'therapy'. You either dealt with it yourself or you let it consume you like she did and spiral out of control. And in Storybrooke the closest thing to a 'psychiatrist' was that stupid cricket, and there was no way in fiery hell she was going to open up to someone who was so messed up he had asked the Blue Twit to turn him into a bug just to escape his con-artist parents.

Besides, anything she said to him would inevitably be told to Snow White, and that was something she would never tolerate.

Here, she was actually welcomed with almost open arms, and no one asked questions. As long as she wasn't a criminal, monster, or an abuser, they wouldn't ask about her past outside of what she was willing to give in the therapy sessions.

It was pretty obvious Regina was still hurting from a past wrong and just needed somewhere to go, even if she was too strong or prideful to admit it herself.

Today was another mandatory therapy meeting, and this time she had come prepared with something rather interesting. After this she would be able to 'lead' the meetings rather than participate, which she was looking forward to.

Regina took her 'spot' and pulled out something that most people would look askance at.

It was a stress-ball, only it was in the shape of a heart. To be more specific, a human heart the way it actually looked and not those ridiculous ones you'd see on a cheap valentine card, complete with fake arteries and everything. It was even the right size.

Today she planned to imagine Snow White's heart in her hand as she explained why she hated the woman. Why she felt compelled to hunt the little bitch down the entire time she had been Queen. Why she could never truly forget the pain the brat had caused her.

"Regina, your turn," said Amelia. She was the vice-director of Queen's Castle, but had been entirely unsuited to being the director.

Regina sighed.

"When I was about seventeen or eighteen, I lost the one man I've every truly loved to my mother's heartless actions. I saved the life of a girl everyone loved, and when she found out about my secret boyfriend I asked her to keep it a secret from everyone... at least until we were married and had run away. Instead she told my mother about him and the next night I saw him die in front of me because my mother thought he wasn't 'suitable' for someone of my breeding. I've harbored a grudge against her every since."

Silence descended on the group.

"What happened to your mother?" asked Amelia.

"Nothing. No courts would dare take her to trial, and the girl who got him killed never even tried to take responsibility for ignoring the warnings of everyone who knew my mother at all. Anyone with common sense would have known that telling her a secret like a hidden boyfriend would only end in tragedy. But she was a spoiled girl who never acknowledged that actions have consequences."

"What was your boyfriend's name?" asked one of the women. Emily, if Regina remembered right.

"Daniel. He worked with horses and he was a good man. My mother felt she had to make an example out of him so she made sure I was present when she killed him. And I've lived so long under her thumb that I couldn't stop her," said Regina.

It actually felt good to get this out, even if she couldn't exactly tell them why no one dared say no to Cora, or how she killed Daniel. To know they wouldn't judge her because of who she had been in the Enchanted Forest, but would give her actual support.

The entire time Regina was telling her story, she had been squeezing the foam heart in a 1-2-3 pattern. With each squeeze, she imagined either Snow White or Cora's heart in her hand. It felt unbelievably relaxing.

At the end of the day, Regina felt more at peace with herself than she had since Daniel's death. Getting that out in the open had been difficult at first, but being able to open up about such a traumatic time helped a lot.

The Spice Shop was a godsend to Regina. It was the _only_ apothecary that was actually stocked with the things she recognized.

It also served to prove one important fact that the Blue twit had gotten very, very wrong.

She said there was no magic in this world, that it was impossible to USE magic here. But there mere fact Regina found recognizable magical plant and some animal species meant that there had to be magic here, just not in abundance like the Enchanted Forest.

Mandragora was a distinct magical plant and Regina's limited senses towards it told her that this plant was the same one she recognized down to the effects.

Which meant one of two things. Either they had a way into the deeper regions of the Enchanted Forest, or there had to be magic in this world that was only accessible to those who knew how to look for it.

A simple experiment with _her_ magic proved that there was some here, but using it would take some getting used to and learning where the leylines of power were. That is, if she were inclined to stay in Portland.

Today Regina was restocking on her favorite herbal blends, since the store bought brands simply couldn't keep up with her world-class migraines.

"Here for your tea, Ms. Mills?" asked Rosalie. She was a nice girl, but she had the same undercurrent that Gold had. Just nowhere near as strong.

"You are a life saver, Rosalie," said Regina.

That was when _she_ walked in. A woman who immediately put Regina on high alert, because she had the nasty undercurrent of Cora, only more vindictive and foul. It was something Regina never would have thought possible, considering what a bitch her mother was.

Regina didn't care what the woman was buying, but the second she shifted and tried to scare Rosalie, her patience ran out.

Whatever that woman was, it was something that Regina wouldn't hesitate to rip the heart out of and squeeze until it turned to dust.

"A Grimm!" hissed the zombie-faced woman.

"And you're one of the ugliest women I've seen in a long time, and that's pretty impressive," said Regina with her cool, unimpressed tone. It was clear she didn't think much of this woman, and wouldn't be impressed if she tried to use any magic on her. And Regina could tell this thing could use a limited amount of magic.

Rosalie was clearly taken aback by the way Regina reacted to the woman, though she had no idea why.

She managed to smooth things over long enough to get the blond out of her shop without causing trouble.

However once she got rid of the blond she looked at Regina oddly.

"You're a Grimm?"

"A what?" said Regina. She had only come in here for some tea.

"A Grimm, one who can see the true face of Wesen."

"You've completely lost me. I only came in here for some tea," said Regina.

Rosalie rang up the bag, and didn't press further. Though the look on her face was pretty clear. She planned to call someone and the next time Regina came in she might have to deal with some new headache.

It had been a full five weeks since she moved to Portland, and already she was trying to decide if she wanted to spend more time here or not.

That was when she got a call from Henry, the one person in that town she would always answer the phone for.

"What is it?"

" _Mom, are you alright? You've been gone a long time,"_ said Henry.

He didn't sound hurt, in pain, or upset. Clearly he was either bored or worried about her.

"I'm fine Henry. How is the town? Is it still standing with _Swan_ as Mayor?" asked Regina, half-curious and more than a little vindictive to find out how Emma Swan handled that headache.

You could _hear_ the wince on the phone.

" _Emma was Mayor for two weeks..."_

"Who's running the place now?"

" _Mr. Gold. Mary Margaret is too busy trying to find out what your real plan is and no one trusts this Cora enough to even remotely think about giving her the job. Oh, and I've made a new friend!"_

That set off alarm bells in Regina's mind. The few people in the town had been there for as long as Henry had been her son. Which meant 'new' was either another fairy tale character...or someone she didn't want anywhere _near_ her son while she was half a country away.

"What's their name?" she asked, almost dreading the answer.

" _Alice..."_ said Henry as he gave a basic description of what she looked like.

The second Regina heard that, she knew Cora was trying to pull something with her son. No way in _hell_ was she letting that manipulative woman anywhere NEAR Henry, especially since he didn't know what Cora looked like or how she really was!

She might have to cut her vacation a little short. At least temporarily.

It would depend on how Henry liked Portland.


	2. Chapter 2

Storybrooke. The second Regina stepped foot past the town line, it should have felt like home.

Instead it felt more like she was heading in for something she wasn't going to enjoy, but it would be necessary in the long run. The longer she was in town, the more Regina was really, really missing Portland. It was strange how she was starting to prefer a world with limited magic compared to a town where the place was practically saturated in it.

The second she saw Henry with the Charmings, it took all of her new-found inner peace not to walk up to Mary Margaret and bitch slap the hell out of her.

Emma actually looked _relieved_ to see Regina.

"Please tell me your vacation is up early," she begged.

"No. I came to get my son," said Regina coldly.

"Mom?"

"Regina!" said Mary Margaret, clearly unhappy to see her again. It was obvious the feeling was mutual.

"I always knew you were a fool, but I never thought you'd be so stupid as to endanger the life of my son when I left him in _your_ care," snapped Regina.

Swan looked confused.

"What are you talking about?"

" _Cora_ has been sniffing around my son. And you idiots let her," snapped Regina.

"Cora? We've barely _seen_ Cora, and never around Henry," said Mary Magaret, clearly upset. She remembered Cora, and the fact that it was because of her that Regina had been so dead set on killing her for years.

"And none of you morons thought it suspicious when Henry just _happens_ to make a new 'friend' in this town who calls herself Alice? The same name as the girl who annoyed my mother, who took on the title as 'Queen of Hearts'?" said Regina, furious beyond reason.

"What?"

"Henry, is this true?" asked Emma. She didn't know Cora, and hadn't thought it suspicious that he happened to make a 'new' friend after the curse was broken and Regina's mother showed up in town.

Emma Swan could barely qualify as a cop, and wouldn't know a clue even if it stared her dead in the face and waved a hand stating "I'm a clue!"

She definitely hadn't developed the same mother's intuition or protective instincts Regina had, despite not being Henry's birth mother.

In an effort to defuse the situation (showing Regina Swan _did_ have some common sense in that vapid head of hers, which was surprising), Emma took Regina and Henry to her office...which had become Gold's office when it was clear Emma didn't have it in her to _lead_ anyone.

Gold seemed a little too pleased with the fact he was the least objectionable choice in a limited pool of candidates.

Surprisingly he was tolerably good at being mayor.

* * *

Gold didn't look too happy about seeing Regina there, but he was surprised she had brought Henry and Swan with her.

"Regina. Here to take back the reigns?" he asked, only mildly curious.

"Not quite. I only cut my vacation short because I found out _Cora_ (she spat out the name like it was a diseased leper) has been around Henry and no one thought to tell me sooner," said Regina. Gold sat up.

Any idiot could tell Regina was _very_ territorial over her son, and barely tolerated even Swan's presence...and that was after multiple efforts to rid the town of her presence. She only quite because they had come to a relative truce since the curse had broken...and because Regina had deemed Emma 'safe' enough to be around Henry.

Cora, on the other hand, was someone Regina would _never_ allow around Henry, even as a last resort. And Gold didn't blame her one bit...and he had been the one to teach the woman magic in the first place!

"I take it you want me to whip up a batch of memory potion?"

"If you could, then I'll give you some information I know you'd be _very_ interested to know," said Regina.

Gold sat up. The way she said that meant Regina had some very juicy information, and it was something she knew was worthy of a favor from him. A big one, if she played her cards right.

Emma sensed this was something she didn't need to hear, but she did hope like hell Regina was coming back. She didn't know how the hell she managed to juggle being a mother _and_ mayor of this town full of lunatics. It had given Emma a grudging respect for the woman, even if Regina couldn't stand her because she felt Emma was trying to take Henry from her.

"Let's talk business," said Gold.

"I found out the Blue Fairy is either a bigger idiot than we thought, or a complete moron who can't see the truth in front of her face," deadpanned Regina.

Gold snorted.

"Where did you go mom?"

"Portland, and once we have that potion and the spell I know Gold has on hand, I'm taking you with me. I'm not letting you stay within fifty miles of _Cora_ , even if she is my mother," said Regina.

"Which spell?" asked Gold.

"One that will keep his heart inside him where it belongs and not within easy reach of my _mother_. You know as well as I do that she wouldn't hesitate to take if she thought for a second that she could get something out of it, and I was too busy to think of looking up the spell myself after the curse was broken," said Regina flatly.

Cora was a master of heart magic, but if there was _one_ 'person' that could protect Henry from her thieving ways, it was the Dark One. And Cora _would_ try to take or even destroy Henry's heart, because she knew that it would give her a chance to try and worm her way into Regina's good graces trying to help her daughter 'heal' after the death of her son.

"Such a spell would require a price, dearie. You know as well as I do that magic always comes with a price," said Gold. The potion he would hand Regina for free, because it came with the chance to become the ruler of this pathetic town permanently, if Regina didn't want to come back. But the spell would require actual effort, short of making a deal.

"How about the information I mentioned earlier?"

"Depends on the information," said Gold.

"Is this room secure?"

Gold almost looked insulted.

"Like I would allow Cora to overhear anything sensitive when I agreed to take over for that fool Swan," said Gold. "And I know for a fact she doesn't have any familiars around."

Regina made sure of that, before she said flatly "There's magic outside the town. I've seen actual mandragora in the town I was living in with the same effects as the ones grown in the Enchanted Forest. So either they have a way in to the deeper regions... or there's a limited amount of magic in this world."

Gold straightened. This was big news, and Regina had guessed rightly that he would pay a hefty sum for such information. A spell to protect her son's heart was nothing compared to that sort of information and the plans he could work around it.

"Are you sure?"

"It's limited, and I've only sensed the barest traces of a ley line in Portland, but when I tested it I was able to make a decent sized fireball in my apartment. So there is magic, but it's not in the same quantity as the Enchanted Forest."

Gold looked like Christmas had come early.

"Is that enough?" she asked him.

"For that dearie, I'll cast the spell and keep you updated on Cora's movements...provided of course that you alert me to any lines you come across and don't want to claim for yourself," said Gold.

Regina nodded. That was a small thing, and it wasn't likely Gold would want to settle down anywhere near the same town she was in. They barely got along as it was.

Henry looked uncomfortable, but it was debatable on whether he was getting used to having the spell on his heart or because after hearing the bare bones of why Regina had been so pissed that her mother had been trying to get closed to Henry, Emma had agreed without arguing about Regina taking him with her.

Apparently Emma did have some mother's intuition after learning Cora didn't view Henry as her grandson and might kill him just to get close to Regina. Well that and she thought it would be good for him to see more of the world outside of the limited view he got when he went looking for her, and this meant he got a break from school for a bit.

Regina thought a tiny bit better of the blond when Emma didn't protest about the decision.

She still didn't like Mary Margaret though.

* * *

As they sat on the plane back to Portland, Henry tried to make small talk.

"So...what exactly did you do in Portland?"

"I became the temporary director of a group dedicated to helping and protecting abused people," said Regina.

Henry blinked.

"Really?"

"The Queen's Castle organization. I happened to be in the right place when someone killed the previous director and helped catch him, and when I offered to help them get their paperwork in order out of boredom they asked me to step in until they could find a replacement. I didn't really enjoy the mandatory therapy meetings I had to go to each week for a month though."

Henry clearly thought his mother was overdue for it, but was smart enough not to voice such an opinion out loud.

"So...what's Portland like? And why are we taking a plane to get there?"

"It's almost like the Enchanted Forest, but with more technology...and we're taking a plane because it's in Oregon. Where did you think we were heading?"

"I thought you were still in Maine," said Henry.

Regina blinked.

"There's a Portland in Maine too?" she said, surprised. Weird.

The main reason he hadn't been upset by the fact his mother left for a month was because he thought she had stayed close by. He hadn't known she meant the one in Oregon.

"At the very least you'll get to enjoy food outside of that tiny cafe in Storybrooke. I _might_ even let you get a dog if you want."

She knew it was futile to try and keep Henry away from Emma. She planned to get him a laptop once he had settled in to the apartment, and she would let him talk to his birth mother through the internet if he wanted. However Henry had always wanted a pet, but the only thing that you could find in Storybrooke to get one was that idiot Dalmatian and there was no way she was letting Henry get a puppy from the town...and she wasn't about to leave the town just to visit a pet store.

Letting him get a pet from the pound might go a long way to getting him to quit seeing her as the enemy for once.

Henry perked up at that idea.

* * *

Henry picked the room right next to his mothers, and no matter how much he wouldn't admit it, he missed his mom. Emma was nice, but she didn't really have the same 'mother' qualities Regina had. She didn't know anything about bed times, the importance of homework, and she hadn't thought to keep track of who he was friends with like Regina.

Some kids complained about their mothers being so overprotective, but Henry knew that if Regina didn't care about him, she wouldn't be so interested in his life. Emma tried, but she didn't know the first thing about being a mom and she had some serious deep seated trust issues. She had no idea how to open herself up to anyone, and even he had barely gotten any headway into her heart.

Regina loved him, even if she hadn't given birth to him.

Though he would openly admit, he was getting sick of the 'Suzie Homemaker' stick Mary Margaret kept up _all the time_. It would be nice to eat food that wasn't so...outdated, and the only one who understood how awesome pizza was happened to be Emma. And she couldn't cook at all!

Any chances of him feeling upset about leaving Storybrooke until his mom was ready to go back disappeared the second he saw what she had brought home.

Pizza, with his favorite toppings and a tub of his favorite ice cream. Regina had missed him too.

* * *

Regina was late by three days. Usually she would have made a visit to the shop, roughly around noon.

So it was with some surprise that when she did show up, it was with a kid.

The kid made a face, probably because the apothecary had a certain smell to it that the medicines always gave off, and she had just finished making an antidote for Nick that had yet to fully dissipate.

"What is all this stuff?" asked the kid.

"Potion ingredients. Decent ones too, which is a surprise. Hello Rosalie. This is my son, Henry."

Rosalie put on a smile.

"Hello Henry. I didn't know you had a son."

"Hello Ma'am," said Henry, having come to stand by his mother.

"Rosalie is fine."

"I had to go and get him from his birth mother, for reasons I'd really rather not discuss. Do you have my usual order?"

"Give me a few minutes, I was expecting you a few days ago," said Rosalie. Unsaid was the fact that she had told Nick there was another Grimm in town, and that the woman likely didn't even know what she was even when confronted by a Hexenbiest. He had come by in the hopes of meeting her and possibly offering advice, but Regina had never shown up.

Time to tell Nick she was back in town...and that she had her son with her.

Henry was looking around until his eyes fell on an old amulet her brother had picked up years ago in the hopes of reselling it to someone who liked magic. It was little more than a trinket, really, and not one she would care if sold off. Unfortunately for his hopes of a quick sell to the tourists, most people passed it by.

"What's this?" asked Henry.

"I honestly have no idea. It's something my brother picked up before he was killed, but I haven't the faintest clue what it is."

Regina looked at it, then at her son.

"How much is it?" she asked.

"Ten dollars. He had some other things he hoped the tourists would buy, but they're still in storage."

"Really? What kind of things?" asked Regina. She could feel some sort of magic off the trinket, mostly protective spells. It was likely the man hadn't even known what it was.

Rosalie went and got a box full of what looked like useless junk and trinkets. However, in that mess of useless things there were a few items of note.

A pen that wouldn't look out of place on an old-fashioned writing desk, complete with a locked ink bottle that practically _radiated_ magic, a mirror with a scrying spell, and most damning of all, a small handwritten book that was clearly written in the language of the elves. Something no one here would be able to read.

The pen and ink bottle she gave to Henry, but she kept the book for herself. She would have to read it to see if it was worth the paper she spent on it.

It did prove one very important thing though.

Wherever they got their inventory, it was blatantly clear now that they had a way into the Enchanted Forest, because there was no way that her brother could have gotten the book otherwise.

The question was...did she want to take Henry back with her?


	3. Chapter 3

Regina knew the second she felt active magic in the house, that the pen and ink were more than what they appeared to be. At least Henry didn't complain when she told him not to use them unless absolutely necessary. The amulet, as she suspected, was a protective one, though the enchantments were wearing thin. It was simple enough to replace or renew the ones on it, so she gave it to Henry.

The book...the book she was going to study whenever she had a chance. It was full of useful spells and frankly she was surprised someone had found it before Rumpelstiltskin had...or herself.

Henry sat down in the corner with his new laptop, IM-ing his birth mother Emma. The computers in Storybrooke were so outdated there was no way they'd be able to handle Skype. And that wasn't taking into account the fact they still had dial-up internet.

Henry had his headphones on, and he didn't know how to read lips.

Regina had brought him for two reasons. One, the world outside Storybrooke wasn't nearly as safe, and two, because right after this they had lessons on self-defense and she wanted Henry to join her in learning how to protect himself.

Regina had taken to those like a duck to water. In fact she was actually taking classes at a local dojo because she enjoyed learning hand-to-hand combat and had a natural talent for it.

So long as he kept off sites that were not appropriate for children his age, she didn't care what he did. But she did give him a list of sites she didn't want him ten feet of.

Mostly he played on sites that had games, which she had approved ahead of time, while he talked to Emma.

So long as he didn't record anything or listen in, the women ignored his presence. Regina had warned them she was bringing her son, and he was curious to see her in therapy.

When it was her turn, she noticed he discreetly moved the headphones back. To be fair, she tried not to talk about her time in the Enchanted Forest because she didn't want him to think he was one of the people she wouldn't hesitate to hurt.

So while Regina talked a little about why she was considered 'evil', Henry listened and tried to look at his mother with an impartial light.

To be fair, he had only ever seen the good side of his mother, she had never let him see her darker side. The reason why people treated her like a dragon in a foul mood when she was angry.

* * *

When Regina went on her weekly visit to the Spice Shop for her herbal tea (she always had constant migraines, though at least in Portland it wasn't a daily thing) she noticed a familiar face.

"Detective Burkhardt. I wasn't aware that the Portland Police made visits to apothecaries," said Regina.

"They do when they're friends with the owner," said Nick. It was clear he was trying to be casual, and not raise any alarms, but he was only doing a marginally better job at trying to be discreet than Swan.

To be fair, she wouldn't have been suspicious if it wasn't for the fact he clearly wasn't buying anything.

"Uh-huh. Why are you really here Detective Burkhardt?" asked Regina.

Nick winced.

"Rosalie said you might be a Grimm, like me."

"Well at least you have the good sense not to hide behind a lie," said Regina. "And what, exactly, is a Grimm?"

After she got her usual tea, Nick took her someplace to explain as best he could. Apparently he only found out about this from his aunt less than a year ago.

A Grimm was someone who saw the 'true nature' of "Wesen", which was the name for the animal-people she kept seeing around town. Apparently they had a reputation for beheading any they found, hence why they ran the second they realized she saw them.

As it turned out, Nick was allied with Rosalie, a Fuchsbau, and Monroe, a Blutbad.

At least now she had an answer for why Rosalie felt like Gold. Fuchsbau had a reputation for being crafty.

With Monroe, well, she got a different vibe from him.

He was dangerous, but more in a protective way. It would take something other than a feeling before she let him near her son alone.

He should be glad she let Henry anywhere near him, despite the 'scary' face he had.

Cora was scary. Maleficent when she was pissed and in dragon form was scary. Regina when she was in a very, very foul mood and not exactly inclined to hear excuses was _scary_.

Monroe wasn't anywhere near the level of Regina Mills in a foul mood and sniffing out a lie, in Henry's mind. He wasn't even phased by seeing Monroe's 'true face'.

Though Nick and his friends were _very_ surprised to learn Henry could see them too.

Regina had another theory for the reason why Grimms were so rare.

Magic. If there was a chance that Wesen knew of a way back to her world, then odds were that someone from the Enchanted Forest might have come here before, and married someone here. Which meant there would be magical blood here.

Henry, despite being born here, had magic in his blood. It came from his mother, and possibly his father as well, if Regina ever found out who Emma had slept with to produce her son.

He was the grandson of true love, and he was Regina's son. He was raised in a town that was _saturated_ in magic, and even though he hadn't shown any signs of it, Regina had a feeling he could use it if given the chance.

Odds were that the reason the Grimm bloodline skipped people was because they didn't have enough...or any...magic in them.

* * *

It had been two months, and it was time for Regina to ask herself a question.

Did she really want to go back to Storybrooke? Was she prepared to deal with Cora and the headache that was the Charmings?

Henry seemed to like Portland. He liked it a lot, even if he wasn't the mayor's son anymore. He even had a new pet dog, a German Sheppard he called Taser.

Nick had introduced him to some K-9 cops that were showing Henry how to train his new dog, and they both seemed to love it.

Regina couldn't decide. On one hand, she was the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest...even if she was currently in another world. On the other hand, she liked being just another person and helping others, which surprised her.

Besides, there was still the eye candy to consider. Nick, the hunky detective who was currently having issues with his long time girlfriend Juliette. Hank, his equally attractive partner and single. Wu, the rather amusing officer with a sense of humor she could appreciate. And if she were really pushing it, the Captain himself, Sean Rennard.

Though the last was more of a desperate choice, because he felt like a cross between that odd blond woman Nick had called a 'hexenbeist' and someone from a royal family.

Regina couldn't decide. If she did stay, she would at least have a good job because they had offered her to be their new director permanently. If she went back, she would have to deal with Cora and the Charmings again. Not to mention having to deal with Emma and her naivete.

She saw Henry come in, and decided that it wasn't just her decision. He had to help her figure out whether they stayed in Portland longer.

"Henry, how would you like to stay in Portland a little longer?"

Henry looked up from his snack. Taser took the chance to steal a few pieces of bread from his plate.

"How much longer?"

"A few more months, maybe. You would have to start attending school, of course, but you would have a bit more freedom in Portland than you did in Storybrooke."

Regina wasn't the only one who had enjoyed a certain amount of freedom out of Storybrooke. Henry had discovered he liked not being recognized and immediately 'ratted out' for fear to his mother. Because they were afraid of Regina, she merely had to ask anyone on the street where he was.

Here, he was just another kid. One who apparently could see the 'true faces' of Wesen, but still a kid.

And the sad fact was he could talk to Emma a lot easier through the computer than he could in real life. She felt more at home in this world than she did with her 'parents'. The Charmings really didn't get his birth mother at all.

There was also the awkwardness of having your grandmother being your teacher and still looking the same age as his own mother. She was just too...perfect.

Plus no one wanted to be friends with the Evil Queen's son.

"...Could we stay here? Just a little longer I mean," asked Henry, after giving it some good long thought. Nick had promised to let Henry read some of his family's books, since he was a 'Grimm' after all.

Personally Henry liked his mother's explanation, once she had a good idea of what was really going on.

Bleed through from the Enchanted Forest and the other worlds was a lot easier to believe than an entire race of 'animal people' and 'hunters' springing up without a lot more people noticing. And the Grimms having magic in their blood would also explain why they were more or less immune to certain Wesen.

The fact Regina said she _might_ teach him magic if he could learn to read Elvish didn't hurt either.

"...You get to pick the school you go to, and don't hesitate to put people in their place if they try anything. Coincidentally I'll be putting pepper spray hidden in your bags from now on."

Some children and parents might call Regina a mite overprotective. Henry had lived with this his entire life, and after learning who his mother really was and how many enemies she had, took it in stride.

After all, it wasn't being overprotective if people really were trying to get you, and Portland wasn't nearly as safe as Storybrooke at night. It was better to be a little over-prepared than run into a Wesen or human murderer unarmed.

So no, Henry didn't call his mother 'overprotective'. He simply called her cautious...after all, she had yet to mention having someone trusted to pick him up after school or shadow him or anything, so a pepper spray bottle was actually quite tame in comparison.

Gold was naturally happy to hear he would be 'mayor' a bit longer. So much so that he snuck past the drunken dwarves who were growing magical beans to get back to the Forest and stole a few plants. One, he sent to Regina to cultivate on her own while the rest he kept for himself under a spell.

Regina had also given him a word of warning...any city or town that had lost touch with it's connection to nature...like New York for example, wouldn't have any magic at all. But a place like Portland, which Regina was really, really considering moving in permanently, still had the connection and you could cast magic.

Regina had also noted something interesting. The more Wesen that lived in the area or the area around it, the higher the concentration of magic would be. They seem to know where the magic was and would settle down there because it felt 'comfortable'.

She kept Gold informed, and in exchange he kept Cora running around trying to find out where Regina went and out of his way. He _enjoyed_ being Mayor, and as long as Regina was more interested in staying away from Storybrooke, he was in control.

She also thanked him for the 'gift' of a magic bean plant, which could be used to get back "home".

She couldn't explain it, but for some bizarre reason she was attracted to Nick Burkhardt. And after realizing she didn't really care about Wesen or the Grimm's job of 'policing' them like Nick did. For some strange reason, she seemed to have become part of the 'inner circle' of Portland without actually trying.

Possibly because she knew some of the older 'lost' recipes for potions that even Rosalie didn't know, like the memory potion.

Something that was in _very_ high demand with the people who supplied Rosalie with her inventory. Not having to worry about forgetting something important when crossing the magical borders was a major selling point.

As a consequence, Regina learned more about the inner workings of the Wesen world than she would have intended. She didn't mind though.

Without the magical aspect of Storybrooke or the annoyance that was the Charmings, Regina was quickly becoming bored, which she hadn't thought possible.

Even Henry was enjoying his life in Portland, and he was making up for the lack of magic and adventure by reading the books in the trailer where Nick's aunt had put all the things a Grimm would need to do their job. He wasn't allowed near the weapons closet or the little rack of potion ingredients without supervision, but it wasn't uncommon for Henry to borrow books and learn a new language as he translated the words with the help of dictionaries. So far he could speak passable German, and that was thanks to the fact Monroe helped him translate the books.

Regina wasn't against Henry learning how to speak more than one language. And as long as the books didn't give him nightmares, she was fine with him reading them.

Besides, he got to play around with the weapons in the trailer on the weekends, provided he was with Nick when he had them. She was from the Enchanted Forest, where it was stranger for a boy his age _not_ to have a weapon if he left his home or his village.

This world was a little too laid back in concerns to personal safety.

It was like they automatically expected _everyone_ to be as civilized as...shudder...Mary Margaret and her merry band of morons. Swan was just _barely_ tolerable, and that was only as long as Regina didn't have to spend more than a few hours with her.

Regina wouldn't openly say this, but if Swan wasn't the daughter of that idiot Snow White or the mother of her son (and thus a viable threat to losing Henry) the two of them might have been able to be something close to friends.

Still, at least here she had some decent eye candy to look at.


	4. Chapter 4

"So just to be clear, Juliette was under the effects of a potion from a hexenbiest named Adalind, who is angry with Nick for taking her powers away. She woke up, but you have no idea who woke her up or what the after effects will be. Do you have any idea what sort of potion she was under?" asked Regina, sipping some fresh tea and in Rosalie's shop.

"Here's a general list of what might have been in the potion. We were barely able to stop the memory loss, but she still can't remember Nick at all."

Regina took one look at the list, and frowned.

"This looks like a nasty one. I'm vaguely familiar with it, but the only know 'cures' for this particular potion are true love or the pure of heart, which I sincerely doubt would be easy to find. What were the ingredients that one woman was demanding when I was in here before?"

Rosalie handed the list to her.

"These look like a potion to chemically create someone 'pure' of heart, but there are side effects to it."

"Side effects?"

"Well this ingredient here is commonly used for love potions, specifically the ones to induce a false lust. Rather pathetic, really," said Regina.

"That might explain what's happening to Juliette."

"I'm betting that hexenbiest added this mostly as a joke or to annoy whoever ordered it from her. Or she didn't know you could substitute it with something fairly uncommon and wouldn't get that false lust effect after. Either way if they used this we had better find out who it was, fast."

"Why?"

"Because the lust could easily progress to 'obsession', and if Juliette allows it, then the other victim might try to remove Nick from the equation just to get to her," said Regina.

Rosalie winced.

"What would we need to fix this?"

"I'll have to get the books...or make a call. The only person I know who might have an antidote is in Storybrooke, along with my potion books," said Regina. It might be easier just to have Gold send them to her, rather than go back.

Then she got an idea. A quick return to Storybrooke without the wait for the memory potion to brew.

"If you can wait a few days, I can go back to Maine for a bit and come back with my books."

"...Would it be possible to join you? I'd be interested in seeing this Storybrooke."

"Do you think Monroe would be willing to babysit Henry?"

"I'm sure he would. He loves kids, though Nick has been staying with him since Juliette has been impossible to live with."

Regina was making a big gamble here...she didn't trust just anyone with her son.

However there was something about Monroe that she trusted. Something that didn't feel...false...like Snow White and her 'perfect' family or Cora, with her manipulative nature. She could tell that Monroe would protect Henry with his life, if he had to.

She was just hoping it never came to that.

* * *

"Sure, I'd be happy to watch Henry while you're out. He's a sweet kid," said Monroe honestly.

Nick had already agreed to sleep on the couch, if he had to. Henry, on the other hand, said he'd rather sleep there instead since he never had the chance to before. Even when he was living with the Charmings, he always had a makeshift bed. So sleeping on the couch for a few days would be a novelty for him.

Besides, this meant he could join Nick in his study sessions in the trailer learning more about the lives of Grimms.

She had already called Gold the day before and told him she would need two doses of the memory potion, and in exchange she would be bringing some of the harder to find ingredients that Rosalie had in her shop that never got used.

Regina had paid for them, but she knew they would be valuable in trade to Gold.

* * *

Regina hated planes. They were noisy, smelly, and the last few times she was forced to sit in one, there was always a wailing child. Rosalie, the smart fox that she was, had taken something to sleep through the plane ride. She really wished she had thought of that sooner.

Instead she pulled out one of Rosalie's...older...books to see if she could find any useful potions they could try out. It was nice to have someone she didn't automatically despise that she could talk potions with.

Rosalie seemed to enjoy it too, and it was clear that if she had been born in the forest she would have been an excellent herbal woman.

It would be interesting to see how Storybrooke reacted to a Fuchsbau...and how Rosalie reacted when she realized how much they didn't like Regina.

"This place is...quaint."

"It's an outdated town with not much going on, and the closest thing to a restaurant is a cafe that doesn't have much variety. And the library just has the bare basics. And don't get me started on the lack of technology here," deadpanned Regina.

"Well I think it's nice," said Rosalie, trying to stay positive.

"At least you won't have to stay in the hotel if we have to be here overnight. I have plenty of rooms in my house," said Regina.

"What sort of house is it?"

"You'll find out soon enough. I still have to pick up a few things before we leave here," said Regina.

Rosalie could feel the stares of quite a few people on the street. Like they were incredulous about something.

"Noticed it did you?" asked Regina quietly, as they went into the more...expensive...side of town.

"Kind of hard not to. Why are they staring?"

"It's not because you're a Wesen. I guarantee you once they see that they won't raise more than an eyebrow after the first time. No, the stares are because of me and the fact I'm openly letting you walk next to me," said Regina calmly.

The fact Rosalie was walking next to her like an equal and Regina wasn't saying anything about it was noteworthy enough for people to stare. Regina didn't let _anyone_ outside of Henry walk next to her like a friend the way Rosalie was doing.

Rosalie was very surprised when she saw the house.

"This is your house?"

"I may have neglected to mention that I'm the former mayor. Gold is taking my place because I really didn't want to come back and deal with the headache anymore."

"Wait...you're the former mayor of this town? Why would you move to Portland?" asked Rosalie, surprised.

"Did you notice the staring? I'm usually greeted with an undercurrent of fear whenever they see me, and it gets old real fast," said Regina.

"Why?"

"A long story I'd rather not get into at the moment."

Regina made a point to collect some cuttings from her beloved apple tree, which was came directly from the Enchanted Forest. She planned to transplant the tree in Portland, once she had a proper house.

The staring got worse when they went to see Gold. Rosalie almost couldn't stand it and wanted to rip into someone.

* * *

"Hey, Regina. I didn't know you were in town."

"I'm only visiting Swan. I'll be in and out in a few days. I just came to pick up a few things," said Regina in a flat tone.

Specifically a few books and items from her vault, since she didn't trust Gold not to snoop if she let him in. And the less said about Cora, the better.

Regina put the books she wanted to keep in her duffel bag. She then started putting some of her special artifacts in. The kind Cora would _love_ to get her dirty mitts on.

The last thing Regina did was seal the vault from intrusion. Only she was allowed in or out of the vault.

Her task done, she closed the tomb she had made for her father.

Rosalie was with Gold, sharing potions recipes. She got along surprisingly well with Belle too...apparently they had a similar love of books.

Regina entered the shop and her lips curled into a disgusted expression.

Cora was there. Somehow she just knew this quick trip back to Storybrooke was shot to hell just seeing her mother's face.

* * *

"That is so cool!" said Henry. They were watching some random movie about Camelot and someone had actually put in a genuine jousting tournament in it. In the spirit of all twelve year old boys, naturally Henry loved it.

"I gotta admit, that was pretty cool," said Nick.

"I know a guy who owns some horses. Maybe your mom would let you learn how to ride one," said Monroe.

"Knowing her and where she originally came from, she definitely would," said Henry. He had a hard time seeing the Evil Queen saying no to her son learning how to ride, especially since he knew for a fact his mother loved it too.

"Where is your mom from?"

"I don't know," said Henry. He knew she was from the Enchanted Forest, but he didn't know which part. The book didn't really give specifics.

As they finished the movie...and decimated the popcorn Monroe had whipped up... Nick went through some of the rentals he had picked up.

"So what should we watch next," asked Nick.

"I heard good things about this one from some of the other boys at school," said Henry, holding up one called _Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters_.

"Isn't that one rated R?" asked Nick warily.

"As long as there's no nudity in it and a limited amount of the swear words on mom's list, she lets me watch it. She doesn't really put a taboo on violence except when it's really, really graphic. She wouldn't let me finish the _Silent Hill_ movie after she saw how detailed it got because she was afraid I would get nightmares, though Emma let me watch it with her," said Henry.

The irony being he _knew_ the real Hansel and Gretel and they were nothing like the people in the movie.

"How about something a little more age appropriate, like this one?" said Nick delicately. He'd rather have Regina's vote on it, and avoid getting into hot water. He picked up another movie called _The Avengers._

The amount of explosions kept Henry's interest well into the night, until he started to yawn. Nick shared a grin with Monroe, and when Henry nodded off the Nick carried Henry upstairs so he could sleep. Nick had done enough sleeping on the couch that he didn't mind doing it again.

He and Monroe shared a few beers while they watched the movie Henry had been interested in, to see if it was safe for him to watch. Aside from a few scenes, which they could easily skip over if they had to, it was safe enough. There wasn't anything _too_ graphic.

When Henry woke up the next morning, he was a little annoyed at the fact he had clearly been carried upstairs without his knowledge, but he said nothing because he knew better.

And after Nick picked him up from school, they went to a discreet area in the woods where he showed Henry the finer arts of using a mace.

Personally Henry preferred a simple bow and arrow, likely because he was related to Snow White who was an archer herself. Too bad there weren't any archery clubs at his school. At least he was learning how to knife fight properly, even if he wasn't allowed to carry one.

* * *

"That...was an absolute _nightmare_ ," said Rosalie with a shudder.

"Now you see why I felt it necessary to cut what was originally my vacation short just to retrieve my son before my mother got her claws into him," deadpanned Regina. Rosalie winced.

Cora had been a total bitch, and if Rosalie hadn't known any better she would have sworn the woman was a hexenbiest or something. She was vindictive and subtly insulting enough to be one. After meeting her _once_ Rosalie understood without being told why Regina felt it necessary to protect her son from Cora.

It had taken what was supposed to be a simple, relatively painless trip into an absolute hassle...and that was before Rosalie ran into Mary Margaret at the tiny little diner that served as the only decent restaurant in town.

The woman had a really outdated hair cut, a vibe that made Rosalie want to avoid her, and she automatically seemed to think that Rosalie was _evil_ or something just because she had been seen walking with Regina as friends. To be blunt she just wanted to punch the woman and didn't know why.

It was like this Mary Margaret was trying too hard to be good or something, which was weird. And the sheriff... Ms. Swan was nice enough, but it was clear she wasn't as good as Nick.

"I did try to warn you that Storybrooke wasn't as friendly as Portland," said Regina.

"What was with that school teacher though? Just being near her made me want to punch her, and that was before she started asking those weird questions."

"What teacher?"

"I think she said her name was Mary something."

"Mary Margaret?" asked Regina, her mood returning.

"That's it. She felt...off."

Regina was smirking now.

"You felt the urge to punch that annoying little goody-two-shoes twit Mary Margaret in just one meeting? I do believe I've found another reason why I like you better than most of the people in Storybrooke. Most of those idiots seem to think she can do no wrong and treat me like I'm a monster," said Regina.

Rosalie shuddered.

"She felt like she was trying to be good, but it felt really, really forced. It was weird. And the way she acted around me was irritating. Almost like she thought _I_ was evil or something."

"That's because Ms. Goody-two-shoes is an idiot, and obviously thought that because I let you walk next to me that you had to be a villain or something equally mean," said Regina with a snort.

Snow White wasn't very bright at times, and the fact Regina was spending long periods away was definitely impacting her judgment if she honestly thought _Rosalie_ was a villain.

"So did you get your books?"

Regina handed one to Rosalie, one of the few in English anyway. Her opinion of the Fuchsbau had risen considerably hearing that she disliked that idiot Snow White and that was before she knew the story behind why Regina had tried so hard to kill the brat in the first place.


	5. Chapter 5

"What is this?"

"It's better you don't know. But we need to find out who woke Juliette before it progresses too far," said Regina.

"What's wrong with Juliette?" asked Hank. He took the fact Regina was now one of them fairly well. Though he didn't like the idea of her son joining in on the Grimm discussion. He didn't object to Henry helping with the research because Regina made it clear he wasn't going to fight unless he had to defend himself.

Regina was worse than a mother bear when it came to protecting her son.

"The potion this Adalind had her under needed a very specific cure that is hard to find nowadays and would likely need to be induced chemically instead. Since she only woke up a few days after being put under, I'm guessing the hexenbiest who came into the store knew about Adalind's attack and someone ordered her to make something similar to this," said Regina.

"What was the cure?" asked Nick.

"A pure heart...or in a pinch, the kiss of true love," deadpanned Regina.

Hank snorted, until he realized she wasn't laughing.

"Wait, you're actually serious?"

"True love is one of the most powerful magical forces to exist. It can break almost any curse," said Henry wisely.

Considering it was the only reason why people from outside the Enchanted Forest could now come into Storybrooke and the inhabitants remembered everything, Regina wasn't going to correct him.

"Like I said, those with pure hearts are extremely hard to find, so it would have had to be induced chemically. However the process would be extremely painful for whoever had to drink this...and given what's in it, the taste would definitely make you cringe. The biggest problem, however, is the after effects if what the hexenbiest bought is any indication."

"What after effects?" asked Nick.

"One of the ingredients she bought has a rather...nasty...effect when added in potions. Specifically it creates a false lust that can quickly lead to an obsession. If we don't find out who woke her up, she'll be compelled to be with whoever drank the potion. I'm betting it was either deliberately added or the one who made it didn't know you could easily substitute it for something that wouldn't have that effect," said Regina. She then made a face, "Considering the fact that Rosalie's books never mentioned the substitute ingredients either, it might be both."

"Wait, seriously?" said Monroe.

"Regina's books are better than mine, even if my ancient is a bit rusty," said Rosalie.

Her father taught his children how to read ancient, though it was only in the really old, handwritten books. It was a requirement to open an apothecary with ingredients of the old world, and he had made it a family affair.

Rosalie had relearned it after his death, or at least refreshed what she knew of it and now used it as a code.

Regina's books were chock full of it, which meant her brain got a bigger work out trying to translate.

And in the spirit of helping Henry out learning new languages, she was going to teach him to read it too, with Regina's blessing.

Regina had apparently resigned herself to the fact Henry would have to be taught magic, but she was glad she wouldn't have to teach him to read what Rosalie called 'ancient'.

"So how do we find out who Juliette is reacting to?" asked Hank.

"It should be obvious. Since I highly doubt she would tell us if we asked directly, it would be easier to see if they'll slip up first," said Regina.

Nick didn't seem too pleased about that, but if he wanted to ease Juliette into his new role as a Grimm, they couldn't force her to tell him. Besides, there was also the other party to consider, and the awkwardness of telling them about the side effects.

* * *

It was getting worse. He didn't know if he could suppress his 'urges' towards the Grimm's girlfriend much longer.

Dammit, why did Catherine have to give him something that would inspire these thoughts about _Juliette_ of all people? Better yet, why did Adalind have to poison her?!

All of this meant he would have to find a cure before things went too far.

He went to the only apothecary in town that might have a cure, but was surprised to see a kid barely twelve at the counter, reading a book.

"Aren't you a little young to be working the register?"

"It's Saturday and my mom had a meeting that I'm not allowed in. This is one of the few places she said it was alright for me to be at on my own, so long as she knows where I'm going first," said the kid without looking up.

It was high praise considering Regina's protective instincts that she allowed Henry to visit Monroe and Rosalie on his own, so long as she knew exactly where he was going and he called her before leaving first.

The kid finished the chapter, and looked up.

"So what do you need? If it's a specialty item you'll have to wait. If it's something on the shelf I can look up the price for you," said Henry. Rosalie trusted him enough to handle the bare bones. Namely the already prepared items and anything already on the shelves.

That was when Henry noticed the guy's eyes were firmly on the rough mock up of the same potion the one who 'cured' Juliette would have had to drink on the counter. Regina had suggested they leave it in plain sight as a discreet way to find out who drank it, since if they were experiencing symptoms they would likely come in to see if Rosalie could fix it.

Henry was nothing if not smart.

He made sure the can of mace was clear as day, before he said "The owner will be back in five minutes."

"Relax, I'm a cop."

"Can I see your badge?" said Henry, with open curiosity. Emma had a badge, but he'd never seen a real one before. Plus he could get the badge number.

The guy indulged him, and Henry made sure to memorize the badge number. Whoever he was, he was fairly high up with that shield.

"Look I'll just come back when the owner's here," he said. He looked rather nervous, almost like he didn't want anyone to know he'd been in there.

"Sure."

* * *

When Rosalie came back ten minutes later with lunch, the first thing Henry said was...

"I think the guy who drank the potion came in."

"You think?"

"He was pretty interested in the fake potion mom left on the counter. He also seemed pretty nervous, almost like he didn't want anyone to realize he was in the shop."

"Did you get a good look at him? Maybe Nick can track him down."

"I can do one better. I got his badge number. His shield looked pretty expensive too, I think he's pretty high up."

"Wait, it's a cop?" said Nick.

Henry had written down the badge number for him, since he didn't exactly look at the ID that came with it. And only an idiot would imitate a cop.

"Are you sure?" asked Hank.

"I made it look like I didn't trust him and asked to see his badge when he said he was a cop," said Henry.

Nick pulled out his badge, since Hank had his under his shirt.

"Did it look like this?"

"Yeah, but the metal was different."

"Was it brass?" asked Hank.

"It looked like gold, only slightly different. And he wasn't in uniform either. He also had this weird feeling about him."

"Weird how?" asked Nick.

"He felt like mom. Both of them, actually," said Henry frowning.

"Both of them?" repeated Nick.

"Certain people have the ability to read auras. I think Henry was picking up on that," said Rosalie. It was a rather uncommon gift, to be fair.

"Are you two done interrogating my son?" said Regina with an arched eyebrow. Unspoken was the fact that if they upset Henry they would be in for a very _nasty_ surprise later.

"Did you get a good look at his face?" asked Nick.

"Sort of. He was wearing glasses and looked really shifty. Almost like he was afraid of being recognized in the shop," said Henry.

Henry drew a rough sketch of the guy who came in, and the two cops took one look at it and then at each other.

"Is that who I think it is?" said Hank.

"Are you sure this is the guy you saw?"

"He had sunglasses on, but I remember most of it," said Henry. He liked to draw and read.

"What's wrong?" asked Regina.

"It's the captain," said Nick.

"Captain?"

"I can't believe he's involved in all this," said Nick.

"One way to find out. What's an easy way to find out if he's the one who woke up Juliette?" asked Hank.

"I can sense active magic, and if he really is the one who drank this potion I'll be able to tell pretty quickly. I've been sensing it on Juliette too, but it will be stronger in him."

"Wait, magic?"

"Do you want the long or short version?"

"Short," said Hank.

"To simplify matters, there is another realm where the majority of magic exists, and Portland is one of the rare places where bleed through occurs. That means Wesen tend to settle down in larger numbers and why Nick is so busy being a Grimm without having to look for it. And I happen to be one of the few around that can sense it, so long as it's active enough," said Regina.

Rosalie blinked.

"You know about the Enchanted Forest?"

"I'm from there. The place was hit with a curse about twenty-seven years ago and I was one of those who were brought here. I prefer it here though," said Regina.

"I heard about that. The Evil Queen was really pissed off with someone and decided that since she couldn't get rid of her, she cast a really nasty curse on the entire kingdom. No one knows where they went though."

"They're in Maine, in a town called Storybrooke," said Henry.

"Wait, wait, wait. Enchanted Forest? Evil Queen?" said Nick.

"You believe in the old fairy tales like the big bad wolf and hexenbiests, but not in magic?" said Henry.

"Most of my stock comes from the Enchanted Forest," said Rosalie, confirming something Regina already suspected.

"What's next, Snow White?" joked Hank.

"How do you know my grandmother?" asked Henry.

Everyone but Regina gave him an odd look.

"What."

"Snow White is my grandmother. She sent my birth mom here to escape the curse. Though she goes by Mary Margaret now," said Henry, absolutely honest.

"You know what, I don't want to know. So magic is real and the fairy tales are too?" said Hank, admitting defeat. Things were getting too weird, even for Portland.

"Yeah, and the Evil Queen wasn't really that evil, just angry and able to hold a grudge," said Henry, trying not to grin. He knew his mother would get him for that, but he didn't care.

"Sounds like most of my ex-wives," said Hank. Judging by the look Regina shot him, he was going to get a minor curse within the week for that comment. Probably something inconvenient, since Regina did marginally like Hank.

Like diarrhea or something.

Rosalie made a face.

"So that one woman with the really outdated hair cut was Snow White? Makes you wonder about the validity of the stories."

"You should hear the ones about Rumpelstiltskin, who also doubles as the Beast from _Beauty in the Beast_ ," said Henry grinning.

"Does anyone else have a headache?" asked Hank.

"Yeah," said Nick. Too much information that he didn't really want to sort out in one go.

* * *

Nick told Regina where to find the Captain, and she discreetly went into the small cafe thirteen minutes after he did. She bought a coffee and some donuts, then left after passing him briefly.

Then she made it look like she had gotten a call.

"It's him. He's got active magic...and if I'm not mistaken he's a hexenbiest...or he's related to one."

" _Are you sure?"_

"It's hard to forget the feeling of perverted magic. I don't think he's a full-blood one...it's not as foul as the one that came into Rosalie's shop."

" _So how do we tell him we know?"_

"That's up to you. In the meantime we need to get Juliette to come to the Spice Shop so we can sort this out...though how she gets her memory back after we fix this is up to her," said Regina.

* * *

Hank and Nick waited until they had a case, before they went into the captain's office and closed the door.

"Any progress?"

"Depends on how you look at it," said Nick evenly.

The tone alone told him something was up. He looked up from his computer.

"What's going on?"

"We know you're the one who woke Juliette up from the coma Adalind," said Nick bluntly.

Captain Rennard hid his wince pretty well.

"How?"

He had a feeling it was the kid, but how the hell did Nick find his badge number without him finding out?

"Were you aware that the potion you took had an additive that creates a false sense of lust, despite the fact it could have been substituted?" said Hank.

This time he didn't hide his grimace.

"So that's what they were talking about. I take it the kid told you?"

"More like he drew a basic description of you and you're the only one who outranks us enough that we don't automatically recognize your badge number. His mother was the one who confirmed you were the one to wake Juliette up," clarified Nick.

"How did she know?"

"She said something about 'feeling' the magic on you," said Hank.

"That's ridiculous. Only someone from the Enchanted Forest would be able to..." started Rennard, before he gave them a hard look. "The Enchanted Forest came to this world didn't it? That's why no one's heard from them in several decades."

"They're in Maine, apparently...and therefor not our problem."

That seemed to relieve him.

"Good, because the last thing we need on top of Wesen crime is dealing with Maleficent or worse, the Queen of Hearts."

"Wait, Wonderland is real too?"

"Camelot, Neverland, Oz, even that movie ' _Frozen_ ' is based off the Outer Realms. It's just that the Enchanted Forest is the closest to our world."

"How many are there?"

"No one actually knows, but there are less than ten and more than five, all connected by pathways only certain people can use. Just be glad the Dark One isn't here, because he likes to play what most people would consider the Devil. He's always willing to make a deal, and magic has a price."

"So how are we going to get Juliette to the Spice Shop?" asked Hank.

"She might trust you more than me right now," said Nick.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so sorry folks! I had no idea I posted seven instead of six by mistake!  
**

* * *

Nick's respect for his captain went up after he felt the after effects of drinking the potion. That was pure _hell_ to go through.

After the severe pain of having his heart 'purified', Nick barely even noticed the pain of having to donate a little blood.

However that wasn't the highlight of his night.

No, that would have to be after Juliette left, annoyed that she had to drink the foul potion to remove the after effects of what Rennard used to 'wake' her.

Finding out the captain was a bastard Half-Royal living in Portland had been a shock.

Nick looked around before asking "Where's Regina?"

"Emergency call. One of the abusive ex-boyfriends has the staff and the women in the shelter holed up in the panic room and they called her by accident," said Rosalie. She had heard half the conversation.

"And she didn't think to bring one of us?" said Hank.

"Yeah, I'd put my money on Regina rather than the guy trying to cause trouble," said Monroe. No way some random jerk would be able to handle the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest, especially considering the scent coming off her.

He almost pitied any poor bastard that pissed her off during her time of the month.

* * *

 _Across town..._

Regina walked up behind the Löwen causing trouble. She calmly tapped his shoulder, waited until he turned around, then shoved her hand deep into his chest and pulled it out.

"Are we going to have a problem, or do I have to squeeze this until it turns to dust?"

To demonstrate, she _gently_ squeezed the heart, causing the Löwen to drop to the ground in pain.

"Who... Who are you?" he gasped.

"I'm the Evil Queen of the Enchanted Forest and the daughter of the Queen of Hearts. I'm someone you do not want to piss off, because I will end you in a way that can't be traced," said Regina coldly.

Seeing he got the message, Regina made sure to ram it home.

"Tell your Wesen friends that if I see any of you assholes here to harass the women here or to drag their lovers back, I will introduce them to a new world of pain. And if that doesn't work, I have the resident Grimm who works with the Portland police department on speed dial. Are we clear?" said Regina, eyes narrowing.

The Löwen shivered in fear. Regina shoved his heart back in, and said with her best Queen-voice "Now get the hell out."

He fled without looking back. No way in hell was he facing against _HER_ just to get his woman back. He wasn't stupid!

Once he was gone, Regina called the girls inside.

"How did you get rid of that creep?" asked Melanie in awe.

"I have a hand gun in my purse that's got a big enough caliber bullet to put a hole the size of my fist in his chest," deadpanned Regina. She didn't own a gun. She'd never felt the need, and it was too dangerous to have around after she adopted Henry.

The security cameras weren't of the best quality, so the women took her story as truth. From the angle alone, it looked like Regina sucker punched him in the chest, then held the gun visible out of camera sight.

"I can't believe you chased that man out."

"I made it clear if I caught him coming back here to harass you all, I would make certain he wouldn't bother anyone else again. I have no tolerance for people like that."

The fact her method of killing people like him would leave no evidence he even existed once she had the place vacuumed didn't hurt either.

You do not piss off the Evil Queen Regina.

It was probably a good thing Henry had asked to visit his mother, who was looking for Gold's son Baelfire in New York for a few weeks. Otherwise Regina's somewhat embarrassing freak out in the bathroom the next morning would have been something to remember.

Why was Regina freaking out?

She was on her period.

Why was this newsworthy?

Because Regina hadn't _had_ a time of the month in well over thirty years after she drank a potion to spite her mother, believing that Cora wished to replace her with a child she could mold properly. Regina had deliberately rendered herself sterile to insure Cora didn't get her way again after a particularly cruel stunt she pulled trying to fool Regina into thinking she had brought the man destined to be her Soul Mate to her.

She had spent 33 years with the knowledge she could never bear children because of the potion, and she had obtained enough knowledge of a woman's biology in this world (thanks to the organization she lead) to know that the time of the month actually served a purpose in proving a woman's fertility.

When a woman stopped having a period, it meant that they were no longer capable of having a child.

So yes, Regina was having a freak out moment because _she shouldn't have this anymore._

Fortunately today was Regina's day off, as the staff had insisted on it since she dealt with that idiot Löwen.

Regina didn't know how it was possible, or even how to react...well beyond buying some feminine products. At least the ones here were more hygienic than the ones back in the Enchanted Forest.

Regina had been glad when she found out they had better ways of dealing with this sort of thing here. She still shuddered remembering what she had to put up with back home.

So once she had her moment of panic, she decided to go grocery shopping. She was going to need chocolate, and a lot of it to get through this.

* * *

When Regina finally met Captain Rennard, mostly because he had Nick call her, the reaction he had when he recognized her was actually pretty damn funny...if you weren't him.

He started swearing.

"How long has the Evil Queen been living in Portland?!"

"You _know_ her?" said Nick in disbelief.

"My mother made a point of borrowing one of the portals controlled by the Wesen Council to show me the Royals of the Forest, and those you should never piss off unless you had a death wish. She was top on both categories," he said flatly.

"She's the reason we've had an influx of abusive boyfriends and husbands suddenly coming into the precinct to make a full confession of all their crimes," said Hank.

Sean looked at her and said "Heart magic, right?"

"I'm trying to set an example for my son. Sending them in with a spell to confess on their heart instead of just killing them outright seemed like a better idea," said Regina.

"Wait, Regina's a Royal like you?" said Hank.

"She's not like me. She's the Evil Queen who tried to kill Snow White. What I want to know is why you're here when according to what I've heard, the entire Enchanted Forest went missing."

"I used the Dark Curse and it sent the entire Enchanted Forest to Maine."

"...Why Maine?" asked Sean.

"I didn't pick where it landed. I only specified that it be a world without magic and that they would finally respect my rule. It brought us here and wiped their memories until Snow White's idiot daughter broke the curse and brought their memories back."

"Snow White had kids?"

"A particularly dense daughter named Emma Swan...who unfortunately also happens to be the biological mother of my son Henry. She also happens to be the 'sheriff' of Storybrooke... though don't get me started on how piss poor a cop she is."

"If she's such a bad cop, then why is she the sheriff?" asked Hank.

"Because she needed a reason to stay in Storybrooke, and the last one just happened to die suddenly. She'll get right into the middle of any crisis that happens, but ask her to _investigate_ a crime and she wouldn't know a clue if it bit her in the ass," said Regina dryly.

Sean decided not to ask what happened to the last sheriff.

"What about the Dark One?"

"Rumpelstiltskin runs a pawn shop and also doubles as a lawyer."

As one, the three cops grimaced. If there was one thing that a cop would considered evil, it was a lawyer who wasn't working for them.

"This Dark One is a bad guy, right?"

"He's Rumpelstiltskin, the same man who makes deals for infants. What the hell do you think?" said Regina.

"So why are you in Portland?" asked Sean.

"Let's see, stay in a town where everyone suddenly remembers me as an evil queen who tried to kill their spoiled 'golden girl' and who would be trying to find out what my new evil plot was _and_ deal with my mother, or leave and go on a very overdue vacation? I got out of that place before my mother drove me insane, and found I liked this town more," said Regina dryly.

Snow White, her inept daughter, _and_ Cora? No way was she sticking around when she could simply leave.

"...Spoiled golden girl?" repeated Hank.

"The Disney version of Snow White is more like the cleaned up version of the truth," said Sean.

"What truth?" asked Hank. First he finds out that there are monsters out there and that his partner is one of the few people who can stop them, and now this.

"Snow White got my boyfriend killed by telling my mother about him. My mother then killed him in front of me to prove a point."

"And you still blamed her for his death?"

"Everyone and their grandmother knew Cora is a manipulative bitch, and she was old enough to know better than to tell Cora that her daughter happened to be dating the stableboy," said Regina flatly.

"How old was she?"

"11. Old enough to know that telling Cora something that sensitive was a very, very bad idea."

Hank and Nick winced. Eleven meant that she had still been a child, but more than old enough to understand right from wrong.

"And then everyone decides to hate me because I decide to throw the brat out of her father's castle and into the strictest boarding school I could find in the Enchanted Forest...and then when she broke out, she made it sound like she had been hiding in the forest for years from me," said Regina sourly.

Regina was many things, but even she wasn't cold enough to kill a child. She threw that brat into boarding school first chance she had. It was only when the brat turned into a teenager and made it sound like _she_ wasn't the reason Regina had to marry an old man to become queen that she decided to kill the twit.

Regina _hated_ teenagers. Thank magic Henry had yet to reach that stage, and once he did she fully planned to make Swan suffer through most of it.

And despite being very outdated, the Enchanted Forest did have a boarding school. Most of the queens dumped their children there hoping that their brats would make connections with other royal children. It was also very strict on the girls, because what royal family would want their son to marry a daughter that got knocked up by some common rabble?

They learned enough from their mistake of allowing Cora into the Royal lines.

So no, Regina wasn't _entirely_ evil. A complete, vindictive bitch who could hold one hell of a grudge, yes, but not that evil.

To quote that blasted movie that she caught Henry watching the other night, Regina was a woman. She could hold a grudge forever.

* * *

"I can honestly say I didn't expect to see you here," said Regina.

Nick winced. He wouldn't have even _considered_ group therapy, except the Captain thought it was a good way to help him get over Juliette a bit quicker without driving them all mad. A fact Hank and Monroe, annoyingly enough, agreed with.

Shortly after they broke the hold that the potions had on Juliette and the captain, his now former girlfriend left because the memories overwhelmed her. That, plus the fact that the first one she got back happened to be the Siegbarste trying to kill him in their home had been too much for her to take.

On the plus side, after Juliette took her things with her, he had his house back. Now if only he could bring up a reason to move out of Monroe's spare bedroom.

Besides, this way Nick could act as the go-between for Regina and the captain.

Sean Rennard was still in a bit of shock that the Evil Queen was currently living in Portland, or that she apparently had a viable answer for what the Grimm _actually_ were.

The fact she used heart magic on people no one really liked anyway, he could live with.

So now Nick was in group therapy, hopefully to get over losing his girlfriend because of a vindictive Hexenbiest.

Fortunately for Nick's sanity, Regina had made a 'special' support group specifically for Wesen, or people who knew about Wesen. It also spread out that there was a Grimm in Portland who wouldn't decapitate and ask questions later.

She cheerfully named it the Forest Group, and only those who could see through a minor illusion that kept normal people out were allowed to join.

In the Forest Group, the female Wesen could woge out and know they were among their own. Natural rivalries like Blutbad and Bauerschwein did not exist...they were all equals here, a fact Regina enforced with a strict no-eating policy. The women seemed to really appreciate that, because they behaved even without the threat of having their hearts ripped out.

Fortunately for the Grimm, Nick _wasn't_ the only man in the group. Just the only one who still had a spine.

"Let's get started shall we?" said Regina grinning.


	7. Chapter 7

**In honor of my 28th birthday, I give you an update I forgot to post! Also, sorry about the mishap with chapter six! I thought it looked strange, but I didn't realize I posted seven by mistake!  
**

* * *

Regina was frowning. It had nothing to do with Henry staying an extra week with Emma. She could tolerate that to a point. It didn't have anything to do with her slowly developing attraction to Nick Burkhardt, who was still healing over losing his girlfriend who couldn't handle dating a Grimm after losing her memories.

No, this had everything to do with her work as head of the Queen's Castle.

Three women were suffering some seriously nasty stalkers. Stalkers that knew how to skirt around the legal system and make it impossible for the police to arrest them and make it stick. If it wasn't the lawyers getting them off, it was the laws that made it hard for them to be put in jail.

The worst part was that they kept trying to escape by changing their names, social security numbers, even moving halfway across the country without telling anyone where they were going.

And every time the people who were making their life miserable found them within two months. They were beginning to reach the point of suicide, and Regina had worked very hard to help them. She wasn't trying to change, but she found the respect and admiration that had yet to have the undercurrent of fear rather enjoyable.

The fact she had yet to show her evil side was probably why. The few times she used her magic, it was for the benefit of someone else.

So now she was going to use the same curse that kept the people of Storybrooke from exploring this world for another cause. One that even the "heroes" couldn't complain about.

She was going to take the three women to Storybrooke, where only those that knew where the town already was could enter. And since they were so out of date, it would be impossible for their stalkers to track them down so fast.

Mostly because Storybrooke wasn't on any map, so finding it was going to be next to impossible. And since it was so closed off, the women could show the entire town what their stalkers looked like and they would know to warn them to stay indoors.

And once they threw the stalkers out, they wouldn't even remember they had found it!

It was an almost perfect hiding place!

The thing Regina was really looking forward to (and this was part of the price of her delivering them from their current hell) was that they had agreed to take plenty of photos with their smart phones and send them back to her when Snow White heard what Regina had done...and what her new job was.

The Evil Queen was doing more good for people than Snow White had. Talk about irony.

* * *

Regina's eyes were twitching, but to be fair, she had a reason to be upset this time. And she couldn't even blame her son for being the bearer of bad news...well, not bad, but certainly irritating and slightly horrifying.

Emma, the naïve and possibly brain dead idiot daughter of Snow White, had _slept_ with Rumpelstiltskin's SON to produce Henry. Meaning that by proxy, Regina was now related to the Dark One.

Fantastic.

At least Gold looked as happy about it as she was, though it was _nothing_ compared to the constipated look that Mary Margaret had on her face when she found out that the Dark One was the other grandparent of Henry. And she had thought Cora was bad.

It was like Henry was related to practically the _worst_ villains in the Enchanted Forest and beyond.

Well barring Maleficent, anyway. That dalmatian control freak and the squid didn't count, because they weren't even from the Enchanted forest.

Thank magic she was taking her son away from this. It was bad enough learning that he was _related_ to Gold.

Though the looks on Mary Margaret's face and her husband made coming back to Storybrooke to collect Henry and leave the women who needed a fresh start made the trip completely worth it.

And the best part? Because the idiot with the bad hair cut thought they were 'fairy tale' characters like everyone else that came to Storybrooke, she had no idea how insane she was making herself look trying to find out who the women were in the Enchanted Forest.

She wondered how long it would take Emma to figure out they were regular women who were having a rough break and needed a place to hide. Should prove hilarious for quite some time.

Henry sat next to his mom.

"Are you mad?"

"Horrified that Gold is now part of our bizarre family tree, yes. But not mad. Why would you think I was?"

"Because you came to Storybrooke."

"I didn't come there primarily to pick you up. That was a bonus. I came to drop off those women so they could find a new home while the stalker situation is sorted out."

"Wait, Wesen women?"

Regina's smirk was more than a tad evil.

"Normal, ordinary women who think fairy tales are just stories, and only know me as the woman who gave them a chance to be free of their stalkers."

Henry cottoned on pretty quick, because the moment he processed that he started to snicker. He remembered how hard it was for his birth mother to believe she was Snow White's daughter. The only connection they had to the town was that his mom had brought them there to be safe.

So when they found out the entire town 'believed' that the rest of the place was insane...

Henry's snickers only got worse.

"I told them to take plenty of photos to send to me, since Storybrooke isn't even on the maps or Google Earth."

"Can I see them too?" asked Henry hopefully, because honestly this was mild compared to what his mom could have done. She was giving Mary Margaret and the others headaches, and at the same time she was doing good.

Henry could only hope that with time, his mom could drop the 'evil' part of her title as the Evil Queen.

"So what happened while I was with Gold and mom?"

"Well so far I've learned that the Captain of the Portland PD is a half-Royal from this side...and he knew me well enough to have a visible panic attack finding out I had been living there for a few months. Though apparently he didn't recognize me on sight, which was why he didn't notice me walking past him in a coffee shop. And Detective Burkhardt was tricked into therapy with my Forest Group," said Regina.

"Why?"

Nick seemed fairly well-balanced to him.

"Officially it's to deal with the day-to-day stress of being a Grimm and a cop. Unofficially he's my back-channel with his captain and so his partner and Monroe don't have to hear him whine because his girlfriend dumped him once we helped break the potion on her and helped to get part of her memories back," said Regina. Hearing Henry snicker again made her day. It was nice to see him smiling and laughing around her.

* * *

It only got worse when they saw who was waiting for them at the station.

"He's really paranoid about you being here isn't he?" said Henry. And by he, Henry meant the police captain.

"Apparently so. Why else send two detectives to escort us home, plus the Blutbad?" joked Regina.

Nick, Hank and Monroe were waiting for them.

"How did you know I was coming back?"

"Your assistant director called, and told us you were coming back to Portland with one extra. Considering the errand you were running, the captain told us to make sure you weren't followed," said Nick.

"And the wolf?"

"Extra precaution," said Hank.

Considering the records of the people that were doing the stalking and harassment, the last thing Regina needed was for them to switch their focus to her and her son.

Even if she was the Evil Queen.

* * *

Regina was starting to get annoyed. Henry was becoming somewhat worried, and that was the source of her annoyance.

Apparently Hank's comment about the stalkers switching focus to her ended up being a bad omen, because in the past month she had had seen the outside walls of her two-bedroom apartment defaced with some rather disgusting and graphic attempts to frighten her, phone calls in the middle of the night, Henry's computer hacked and left with some rather graphic descriptions of things he shouldn't even be aware of, and some rather piss poor attempts to demoralize her.

So yes, Regina was starting to get more than a little pissed off, and if she found the idiots responsible for almost traumatizing her son, she wouldn't bother with the police because she would kill them herself, law be damned.

And she couldn't send Henry to Storybrooke, because her bitch of a mother was still there and she was highly doubtful Gold would bother to keep Henry safe, since clearly the Charmings couldn't.

So for the moment she was arming Henry with several tracking devices and a thick layer of tracking spells (just in case), making sure he knew how to use a knife and the can of mace, and she drove him to and from school and anywhere he wanted to go, as long as he had someone she trusted with him.

When she explained what was going on to Monroe and Rosalie, they understood her sense of caution and agreed to never leave Henry alone while he was with them.

Regina took the word paranoid and overprotective to a new limit when her son was being threatened. Case in point, she made sure that he couldn't be harmed by magic on top of the spell to keep anyone from taking his heart.

Even so...this was becoming an issue that was really starting to get on her nerves.

"Ma'am?" said Melanie, the same girl who should have taken over for the last director, but had been too overwhelmed to do so. Regina's appearance had been a blessing, and the other women had been quick to dump the leadership of their organization on her when she proved more than capable of handling it.

Especially once they got her to show her soft side long enough to start her own group.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, just that... well, someone from the FBI called."

"What exactly did they say?"

"Something about investigating you for...well...it was rather disturbing. They were accusing you of pedophilia," said Melanie.

Which was rather ridiculous, since not only did Henry not display any hint of Regina abusing him in that way, but Regina had more of a motherly overprotective vibe when dealing with children, not the kind that they would have picked up on. Otherwise they never would have asked her to be director.

Regina's face hardened in annoyance.

"Melanie, I'm going to have to activate that one security measure we all hoped would never have to be used."

A private phone tap. All calls to the organization would be recorded, traced to their origin, and then stored on a memory system held off site, and by the end of the month would be sorted through and presented to the police.

They would make sure to get the badge number of anyone claiming to be investigating anyone in Queen's Castle, and let the police handle it.

And if calls got too bad, well, Regina wasn't above using burner phones, no matter _how_ expensive they were. Though that was a last resort until she found the idiots causing all this trouble and dealt with them personally.

Regina wasn't a modern woman. She was _the_ Evil Queen and she didn't tolerate idiots who were attempting to break her.

* * *

The first victim of Regina's wrath was a man who apparently decided to shift his "affections" from the woman he had been stalking to Regina. He had no technical knowledge, and thus hadn't been aware his cell phone, which he used to call Regina at all hours of the night, could be traced relatively easily.

She took great pleasure in ripping his heart out and crushing it. She would have set him on fire, but that was too visible and quite frankly it was easier to deal with a "missing persons" than a murder charge.

He was reported missing, and aside from explaining the harassing calls and the fact she had put a phone tap on all the phones into her work for security reasons, she was left alone.

The second one was a woman. She was almost as vicious and cruel that Regina almost mistook her for an Asian version of Cora. Almost. Killing her was slightly disturbing, because she kept seeing her mother's image over the woman's face.

Destroying the heart had her hitting the liquor cabinet and a dreamless sleep potion.

Once again, she had to deal with them tracking her down rather fast and asking how she knew the woman. And once again, she came up 'clean'.

The third stalker...well it came as a surprise to find it was actually a husband and wife who got off on getting innocent women to commit suicide out of despair.

She didn't bother to kill them. Instead she asked Rennard for the number of some discreet 'disposal' Wesen that wouldn't mind working for her temporarily. Considering he had already figured out she was behind the two 'missing' people who just happened to be stalking two women out of her group, only to shift focus onto her, he handed the number over without a word.

There were times the law was useless, and it was simply less hassle to discreetly dispose of someone.

This time they didn't even bother to look at her, because she made it clear it was a 'botched' burglary gone wrong. Or at least, that was how she specified they should handle it.

Once was dismissible, twice was a coincidence, but three times and it was clear they would _have_ to look at her closely.

Something she didn't need, because all the records were in Storybrooke, which didn't _have_ digital records. Why would she have needed them in a self-sustaining town of her own creation?

At least the three women could finally leave Storybrooke, if they were so inclined. With their stalkers 'disposed' of, they had no reason to hide.

Regina laughed herself sick when she heard they planned to stay and "help" the people of Storybrooke with their "delusions" of being fairy tale characters. Mary Margaret must have made a real impression, because when Henry mentioned this (on his new laptop and Skype account) to Emma, Regina could clearly hear Emma trying very hard not to laugh her own ass off when she realized what they were trying to do.

Apparently she found it just as amusing as Regina did, which was ironic considering she had been in the same boat as they were originally until she was _forced_ to acknowledge it might be real by Henry. Kind of hard to disprove the whole magic bit when you had to drink a potion to save your son.

It almost made Regina tempted to send more people to Storybrooke, to 'aid' in breaking the 'delusion'. The whole situation was just too funny not to. The fact it was quite literally the perfect hiding place made it even better.


	8. Sorry about the mix-up with the chapters

**Okay, _hopefully_ the story is posted like it should have been. I have no idea how certain chapters got posted in the wrong order by mistake, so I hope it's cleared up now! Sorry about all the confusion!**

* * *

After the mess with the stalkers, Nick found himself doing something he wouldn't have expected so soon after losing Juliette.

He was observing someone with interest. Hank had noticed it pretty quick...hard not to when you were partners as long as they had been. But when he asked who had caught Nick's eye (and would hopefully get him over his ex faster), he had been caught off guard when Nick told him.

Regina Mills. Aka the Evil Queen, who from what Nick had seen was less Evil and more vindictive. Regina had this air about her that said she was more accustomed to running from her problems rather than confronting them, but when something threatened the people she cared about she was pretty quick to go all out to protect them.

Case in point, this 'dark curse' that sent an entire kingdom's worth of people to a newly formed small town in Maine. Regina was very good at running.

She was also attractive, not afraid to get her hands dirty, and a good mother. Her son was polite, but adventurous and had a good head on his shoulders.

The thing was that he was still hurting about losing Juliette, and didn't know if Regina was even interested. He would rather take things slow than to go fast and get hurt even more.

"Wait, so Nick is interested in Regina?" said Monroe.

Nick was finishing up some paperwork at the office, but Hank had been invited by Monroe and Rosalie for dinner and came early. Regina was going to come as well with Henry, and she would bring dessert.

She had promised not to potion or poison them.

"He said so himself. Nick's a romantic, so knowing him he'll take things slow once he's more or less over Juliette," said Hank grinning.

"I think they'd be good for each other," said Rosalie.

Nick was able to deal with pretty much anything being a Grimm threw at him, so dealing with a girlfriend who had magic and a son wouldn't be too much of a stretch. And having someone in her life might calm Regina down and make her even more stable as an ally. It was pretty clear that while Regina hadn't exactly stopped being the 'evil queen', she had learned to let things go somewhat. Being far, far away from the Enchanted Forest (and undergoing some quality therapy) had really helped to tone down some of her worst traits that they knew of.

She was actually quite nice, if a bit vindictive if angered. And heaven help anyone stupid enough to threaten her son.

* * *

Nick showed up, as did Regina who brought over a massive cake with cut apples in it. Henry was carrying a party platter bought from the store, big enough for everyone to eat from.

Throughout the entire meal (in which they agreed no case or work-related things would crop up until after) Rosalie and Monroe watched Nick and Regina.

Hank's assessment was dead on. Nick definitely had an interest (and now that he was looking for it he could scent it on him) in Regina. Surprisingly, Regina had the faintest, almost imperceptible trace of interest coming off her as well.

Perhaps they both needed a nudge in the right direction. Regina was scary when crossed, but otherwise a nice person.

At least they didn't have to worry about some Hexenbeist getting her like Adalind did to Juliette. Actually seeing that woman trying to beat Regina out to be quite amusing, because they had little doubt who would win in that fight.

Rosalie probably shouldn't have said anything, but to be honest the entire situation was too amusing to pass up. So she made an 'innocent' comment about how Nick had been watching her throughout dinner last evening, and not in his "Grimm" sort of way.

It took a few minutes for Regina to cotton on. Rosalie could see her epiphany, but the woman said nothing of the matter while helping Rosalie with the potions in the books she let her borrow.

Regina didn't mind potions...she had a fair knack toward them. So having someone to discuss it with that didn't want anything in return was nice.

However, now that the seed had been planted, only time and patience would tell what the plant would become. Rosalie just hoped it wasn't bitter and cold, but a nice flower. The Fuchsbau paused in that thought.

 _'Perhaps an apple tree or apple blossom, considering Regina's personality?'_ she thought with amusement.

At this point, Rosalie was just glad Regina liked her well enough to be friends with her...even if it was a tentative one considering her past.

* * *

Nick had to admit, he was pretty amused at the moment.

Halloween wasn't his favorite holiday (especially with a missing kid to deal with), but right now he was enjoying a bit of fun.

Henry wanted to be a knight for some trick or treating, something he never got to do in Storybrooke because his mother didn't really have a clue about the holidays and certainly wasn't going to celebrate one where children went door to door for candy. He was going with some friends, and a trusted adult in the form of Melanie.

What amused Nick was that Regina, instead of buying him a store bought costume that looked extremely cheesy, told her son to choose whether he wanted to be a 'good knight' or a 'black knight'.

Henry, not understanding what his mother had been planning, chose black knight because he thought the armor looked cooler than the 'good' knights in the store.

He certainly hadn't expected his mom to whip up a full knight outfit with her coat of arms emblazoned on his armor. Or for her to actually give him a real sword to complete the look.

Nick thought it somewhat hilarious Regina had given her son an actual suit of armor, complete with chainmail and weapon, rather than something from the store made of plastic.

Considering he had come to ask if she would be willing to help find the missing boy, and had seen the sword, he had to have a quick word to Henry not to let any of the kids know it was an actual weapon and not an extremely convincing fake. Or to use it on anyone that didn't deserve to be cut, like a pedophile or kidnapper.

Odds were Henry would be very glad that his mother had at least put the armored boots on top of his sneakers, as there was little chance that metal shoes would ever be comfortable.

Though he did tell Monroe about the costume, and odds were the Blutbad would get a good laugh out of it too. Then again, Monroe had borrowed a morning star from Nick to 'kill' some pumpkins.

With Henry out and about getting candy (and coincidentally helping Melanie keep the younger kids reigned in, being the oldest one trick or treating), Nick was left in a rather awkward silence with Regina.

A silence that stemmed from the fact that Nick definitely had an attraction to the dark, if somewhat reserved Regina...and Regina had something of an attraction to him, if only because she had a thing for men that had nothing to do with Cora setting them up to be with her.

She still winced at the thought of what those actions had cost her long term because her mother was an absolute manipulative bitch.

* * *

Henry was definitely having fun. He kept getting compliments on how realistic his knight costume was.

Even if he had to spend half the time keeping the younger kids in line, it was a small price to pay for the ability to trick or treat on his own, like a normal kid.

So when he saw a strange woman in white taking one of the kids in his group away from the route, he frowned.

Henry went to Melanie, who was trying to solve a dispute with a seven year old fairy princess and an eight year old cowboy. Seeing one of the other chaperons (the Queen's Castle group had agreed to host a trick or treating event where they had two adults chaperon up to ten children in a safe environment while the parents handed out candy) Henry flagged her down.

"What's wrong?"

"Emily went off with someone who looks suspicious. Can you tell Melanie I'm going off to get her?" said Henry.

Cecilia frowned, but Henry was the only one who could break away from the group and not look entirely suspicious to retrieve an errant child. The adults were simply too busy keeping the others in the group.

"Keep your cell phone on so we can track you. Try to get back within ten minutes, okay?" she said finally.

Henry was a very responsible twelve-year-old. And he had passed most of the self-defense classes his mother insisted he take with the women. And that wasn't taking into account the can of mace he now carried out of habit everywhere except in school, where he was required to leave it in his locker under a separate lock by the teachers.

There was also that play sword, which looked like it was made out of real metal. If anyone could handle a predator long enough to call for help, it was Henry.

Henry nodded and ran after little Emily in her Disney Princess costume. He just barely caught up to her...and almost immediately he knew something was terribly wrong. He might be dealing with a Wesen, because no normal eight-year-old would go into the woods with a woman she didn't know without even a fuss.

Henry immediately dialed Nick, making sure to keep up with the little girl and the woman.

" _What's up?"_

"Nick, I think I've got a Wesen trying to make off with a little girl."

You could hear him sit up at that.

" _Describe the Wesen."_

"Female, late thirties, black hair, wearing an old white gown that seems tattered. I'm following Emily, the girl that's with her because the chaperons are too busy with the others," said Henry, keeping easy pace. Always keeping the two in sight. No one even batted an eye at the woman and Emily, either because they looked like mother and daughter out for the night, or because the woman had some sort of cloak around her.

Thankfully no one even noticed Henry either, mostly because it was clear he wasn't up to trouble. They were too busy watching their own kids to care about a twelve-year-old in a knight costume carrying a fake sword.

" _Henry, be careful. This woman's already kidnapped one child and we still haven't figured out where she's taking them."_

"I'll keep my phone on so you can track me. I'll try to keep up with them until I find out where she taking Emily and when I do I'll leave my phone there."

He hung up, and ran to catch up to the woman.

* * *

"We got a break on the kidnapping case," said Nick loudly.

"What's going on?" asked the Captain.

"Henry spotted a woman with the same basic description of our kidnapper taking an eight year old girl. He's following them and said he'll try to keep his phone on so we can find the little boy," said Nick.

"What was Henry wearing?" asked Hank, already grabbing his jacket.

"Black knight costume with a sword strapped to his side, along with a large pillowcase for candy. He also has a can of mace in his pocket," said Nick.

That made a few of his fellow officers pause.

"Why would a twelve-year-old carry mace?" one finally (and rather bravely) asked.

"His mother is the definition of overprotective and she runs the Queen's Castle group. She got him in the habit of carrying it with him at all times," Nick replied. "He also knows what our badges look like, so if you make sure to have yours out he won't give you any trouble."

That got several nods. The Queen's Castle had gotten a rather impressive reputation lately since their previous director was murdered. The woman who ran it now was strict, but very protective of her workers and the people who came to them for sanctuary.

One of the security features she had implemented was that everyone who worked there (and those who had been coming to the therapy groups for abuse for more than two years) had to at the very least carry mace or a personal taser. And she didn't care to hear excuses either, so they carried them. She also got the budget in order to create a large panic room that doubled as a woman's shelter with bunks, food and water.

It was set on a timer, so that the doors would only open if closed if the security passcode was entered from the inside (it was taped right above the pad) an hour after they opened for the day.

And it had security cameras in every room. EVERY room, including the bathrooms and the outside.

Regina took her security and the safety of those that came to them seriously, which made those that came for sanctuary feel much safer.

As several cops followed Nick, who was the only one with Henry's cell phone number, it suddenly stopped in a wooded area right where three of the streams met. In the car with them was the Balam, who apparently got thrown out of her precinct for being too obsessed with this woman.

Frankly Nick felt better knowing he had a Wesen to help with a Wesen case. The Balam was more interested in taking this woman out than she was about the fact Nick was a Grimm. After all, they were both cops at heart.

And frankly Captain Rennard was all to happy to dump her on Nick before sending her to Regina's way to get some long-overdue therapy.

It was either that or he arrest her for lying about being a cop. If anyone needed the headache of the woman, it was Regina, in his mind.

* * *

Any pride Regina felt about how level headed Henry had been during the whole thing was being eclipsed by the absolutely massive migraine she had by the fact that despite everything she did, the Charming blood shone through.

At least he had the common sense of Regina to temper the sheer stupidity that seemed to go with being a Charming. He had called in reinforcements the first chance he had and kept out of the way while they rescued the kids.

The fact he had run after a ghost intent on killing children just meant she would have to instruct him later on how to deal with such pests.

Magic only knew that the "Balam" woman would be first in line to learn how to "kill" ghosts permanently, if only to get some closure.

She would be slipping something foul in Sean Rennard's coffee for sending the woman her way though.


End file.
